Shipping items using an electronic shipping label device

ABSTRACT

The electronic shipping label device may display a shipping label image or shipment information using an electronic paper display, and may be attached to an item for shipment of the item from an origin to a destination. A host device, such as an electronic device of a user, may configure the electronic shipping label device to display the shipping label image. The host device may be configured to communicate with a system server of a shipping management system to provide shipping parameters corresponding to the shipment and receive the shipping label image (e.g., from a third-party system, such as a system associated with a shipping carrier). The host device may transmit the shipping label image to the electronic shipping label device for display.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a non-provisional patent application of and claimsthe benefit to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/841,062, filedApr. 30, 2019, and titled “System and Method for Shipping Items Using anElectronic Shipping Label Device,” the disclosure of which is herebyincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD

The described embodiments relate generally to a system and device forusing an electronic shipping label. More particularly, the presentembodiments relate to a system that is adapted to formulate a customshipping label image for an electronic shipping label device andconfigure the electronic shipping label device using a graphical userinterface of a portable electronic device.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, shipping a parcel or other container, including luggageor suitcases, golf travel bags, shipping containers, and the like,requires a printed label that is adhered to the parcel or othercontainer. The need for a printed shipping label creates numerouschallenges for customers. In some cases, the need for a printed labelmeans that customers must visit a physical location of a shippingcarrier to request services and drop off their parcel to be shipped. Inother cases, customers must print a label on their own and affix thelabel to their parcel, which may be difficult and time-consuming. Inaddition, in the event that a customer wants to update shippingpreferences, such as changing a date of arrival or a destinationaddress, an entirely new label must be printed and affixed to theparcel, often requiring the steps above to be repeated. In many cases,the shape of certain parcels makes adhering a label to the parceldifficult for both customers and shipping carrier agents.

SUMMARY

Embodiments of the systems, devices, methods, and apparatuses describedin the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods forconfiguring an electronic shipping label device for use in shipping anitem.

The embodiments described herein may include a method for configuring anelectronic shipping label device. The method may include receiving, at asystem server, from a portable electronic device, an initiation requestcorresponding to a shipment of an item using the electronic shippinglabel device. The initiation request may be transmitted in response tothe portable electronic device receiving a request to initiate theshipment at a graphical user interface operated on the portableelectronic device. The method may further include transmitting ashipping request to a third-party system. The shipping request mayinclude shipping parameters corresponding to the shipment. The methodmay further include receiving shipment information from the third-partysystem in response to the shipping request. The shipment information mayinclude a third-party shipping label image. The method may furtherinclude determining a layout for a custom shipping label image fordisplay on the electronic shipping label device. The custom shippinglabel image may include a set of custom label elements and the layoutmay specify target dimensions and a position for each of the set ofcustom label elements. The method may further include analyzing thethird-party shipping label image to identify a set of third-party labelelements and identifying a transformation for each of the set ofthird-party label elements. The method may further include generatingeach of the set of custom label elements by performing a respectivetransformation on a corresponding third-party label element inaccordance with a respective set of target dimensions of the layout. Themethod may further include generating the custom shipping label imageusing the set of custom label elements and the layout. The method mayfurther include transmitting the custom shipping label image to theportable electronic device. The portable electronic device may beconfigured to transmit the custom shipping label image to the electronicshipping label device for display at an electronic paper display of theelectronic shipping label device.

The embodiments described herein may further include an additionalmethod for configuring an electronic shipping label device. The methodmay include receiving, at a graphical user interface operated on a hostdevice, a request to initiate a shipment of an item using the electronicshipping label device and destination information corresponding to theshipment. The method may further include transmitting the destinationinformation and an initiation request to a system server. The method mayadditionally include receiving a third-party shipping label imagecorresponding to the shipment. The method may include determining afirst transformation to perform on a first third-party label element ofthe set of third-party label elements to generate a first custom labelelement for a custom shipping label image. The first transformation maybe determined based on a first element type determined for the firstthird-party label element and first target dimensions for the firstcustom label element. The method may further include determining asecond transformation, different from the first transformation, toperform on a second third-party label element of the set of third-partylabel elements to generate a second custom label element for the customshipping label image. The second transformation may be determined basedon a second element type determined for the second third-party labelelement and second target dimensions for the second custom labelelement. The method may further include generating the first customlabel element by performing the first transformation on the firstthird-party label element and generating the second custom label elementby performing the second transformation on the second third-party labelelement. The method may further include generating the custom shippinglabel image using the first custom label element and the second customlabel element and transmitting the custom shipping label image to theelectronic shipping label device for display on a display of theelectronic shipping label device.

The embodiments described herein may additionally include a system thatincludes an electronic shipping label device, a host device, and asystem server. The electronic shipping label device may include anenclosure defining an opening, an attachment mechanism configured toattach the enclosure to an item, a battery positioned within theenclosure, an electronic paper display positioned at least partiallywithin the opening and configured to display a custom shipping labelimage, a processing unit positioned within the enclosure and configuredto control a graphical output of the electronic paper display, and awireless network communication interface operably coupled to theprocessing unit. The host device may be operably coupled to theelectronic shipping label device and may include a graphical userinterface configured to receive shipping parameters corresponding to theshipment. The system server may be operably coupled to the host deviceand may be configured to receive, from the host device, the shippingparameters and an initiation request regarding the shipment, transmit ashipping request and the shipping parameters to a third-party system,and receive a third-party shipping label image for the shipment from thethird-party system. The system server may be further configured toanalyze the third-party shipping label image to identify a set ofthird-party label elements, perform a first transformation on a firstthird-party label element of the set of third-party label elements togenerate a first custom label element of the custom shipping labelimage, perform a second transformation on a second third-party labelelement of the set of third-party label elements to generate a secondcustom label element of the custom shipping label image, generate thecustom shipping label image using the first custom label element and thesecond custom label element, and transmit the custom shipping labelimage to the host device. The host device may be configured to transmitthe custom shipping label image to the electronic shipping label device.The electronic shipping label device may be configured to receive thecustom shipping label image and display the custom shipping label imageusing the electronic paper display.

In addition to the example aspects and embodiments described above,further aspects and embodiments will become apparent by reference to thedrawings and by study of the following description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The disclosure will be readily understood by the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals designate like structural elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an example system for configuring an electronic shippinglabel device for use in shipping an item, such as a golf bag;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting example operations of a method forconfiguring an electronic shipping label device for use in shipping anitem;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting example operations of a method forconfiguring an electronic shipping label device for use in shipping anitem;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting example operations of a method forconfiguring an electronic shipping label device for use in shipping anitem;

FIG. 5A depicts an example third-party shipping label image;

FIG. 5B depicts an example custom shipping label image;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting example operations of a method forformulating a custom shipping label image for use in shipping an itemusing an electronic shipping label device;

FIG. 7 depicts an example electronic shipping label device that may beused to provide information to shipping carrier agents and otherindividuals during shipment of an item, such as a golf bag;

FIG. 8 depicts an example interface of a host device that may be used toaccess a shipping management system;

FIG. 9 depicts an illustrative block diagram of an electronic shippinglabel device as described herein; and

FIG. 10 is an illustrative block diagram of an electronic device asdescribed herein.

The use of cross-hatching or shading in the accompanying figures isgenerally provided to clarify the boundaries between adjacent elementsand also to facilitate legibility of the figures. Accordingly, neitherthe presence nor the absence of cross-hatching or shading conveys orindicates any preference or requirement for particular materials,material properties, element proportions, element dimensions,commonalities of similarly illustrated elements, or any othercharacteristic, attribute, or property for any element illustrated inthe accompanying figures.

Additionally, it should be understood that the proportions anddimensions (either relative or absolute) of the various features andelements (and collections and groupings thereof) and the boundaries,separations, and positional relationships presented therebetween, areprovided in the accompanying figures merely to facilitate anunderstanding of the various embodiments described herein and,accordingly, may not necessarily be presented or illustrated to scale,and are not intended to indicate any preference or requirement for anillustrated embodiment to the exclusion of embodiments described withreference thereto.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to representative embodimentsillustrated in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood thatthe following description is not intended to limit the embodiments toone preferred embodiment. To the contrary, it is intended to coveralternatives, modifications, and equivalents as can be included withinthe spirit and scope of the described embodiments as defined by theappended claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to a system forshipping one or more items, such as a golf bag containing golf clubs,luggage, shipping containers, and the like, using an electronic shippinglabel device. Transporting large or irregularly shaped items, such asgolf clubs and golf bags, can be particularly challenging, becausetravelling with these items is difficult, and shipping these items isinconvenient. Golf bags and similar items may be heavy, large, andcumbersome, making them difficult to carry and hard to fit inautomobiles. For travel that includes flying, many airlines charge feesfor baggage and extra fees for oversized baggage.

Some travelers choose to ship their belongings using a shipping carrier,which provides a host of additional challenges. For example, users mustvisit a shipping carrier location, which is inconvenient for the reasonsdiscussed above, or print and affix a paper shipping label to theiritem, which is inconvenient as well. For example, users may not haveaccess to a printer or tape, and affixing the label to the item may bedifficult if there is not a large planar surface that is well-suited forreceiving an adhesive label. In addition, in the event that a customerwants to update shipping preferences, such as changing a date of arrivalor a destination address, an entirely new label must be printed andaffixed to the item, often requiring the steps above to be repeated.

The systems described herein use an electronic shipping label device forshipment of a golf bag, suitcase or other luggage, shipping containers,and other shippable objects or containers. The electronic shipping labeldevice may display a custom shipping label image and may be attached toan item for shipment of the item from an origin to a destination.

A host device, such as an electronic device of a user, may configure theelectronic shipping label device to display the custom shipping labelimage. The host device may be operably coupled to and configured tocommunicate with a system server of a shipping management system toprovide shipping parameters corresponding to the shipment and receiveshipment information regarding the shipment. The shipment informationmay include a third-party shipping label image. In some cases, thethird-party shipping label image may be incompatible or otherwiseunsuitable for display on the electronic shipping label device. Thesystem server may formulate a custom shipping label image. Formulatingthe custom shipping label image may include analyzing the third-partyshipping label image to determine third-party label elements andgenerating custom label elements for the custom shipping label imagebased on the third-party label elements. The custom shipping label imagemay be specifically formatted for the electronic shipping label device.

The host device may transmit the custom shipping label image to theelectronic shipping label device for display. The electronic shippinglabel device allows users to perform the entire process of preparing theitem for shipping using the host device. This obviates the need to printand attach a paper label to the item. In doing so, the electronicshipping label device allows users to overcome obstacles that exist withtraditional shipping processes.

In various embodiments, the electronic shipping label device may bereused for multiple shipments. For example, if a shipment is concludedor modified, the shipping label image displayed by the electronicshipping label device may be updated or replaced (e.g., using the hostdevice) to display a new shipping label image corresponding to a new ormodified shipment. This provides an improvement over traditionalshipping labels, which are typically discarded after a single shipment.As such, the electronic shipping label devices described herein providea more environmentally friendly solution for shipping items, such asgolf clubs.

Users may provide shipping parameters corresponding to a shipment usingan interface provided at the host device. As used herein, “shippingparameters” may refer to information regarding a shipment. Exampleshipping parameters include destination information (including adestination address), a return or origin address, shipment initiationdate, shipment delivery date, billing information (payment information,billing address, etc.), customer contact information (e.g., recipientname, phone number, email address), shipment item information (e.g.,type of item, number of items in a shipment, item dimensions, itemweight, packaging information), shipping insurance preferences, and thelike. Shipping parameters may be transmitted from the host device to thesystem server for storage and/or use by the shipping management system.

To initiate a shipment, a user may provide shipping parameters using thehost device. The shipping parameters may be sent to the system server aspart of an initiation request. The system server may receive theinitiation request and transmit a shipping request including theshipping parameters to a third-party system. The third party system mayinclude a computing network associated with one or more parties thatprovide shipping services (e.g., shipping carriers, shipping brokers,and the like). In response to the shipping request, the system servermay receive shipment information indicating an agreement to perform theshipment by a shipping carrier. The shipment information may includetracking information, shipping parameters, and the like. The shipmentinformation may include a third-party shipping label image, portions orelements of a third-party shipping label image, or other informationthat may be used to formulate a custom shipping label image. The systemserver may formulate and transmit the custom shipping label image to thehost device. The host device may be operably coupled to the electronicshipping label device, for example by a personal area network connection(e.g., a BLUETOOTH LE network), a cellular network (e.g., GSM, LTE, orother cellular network), or another type of network. The host device maytransmit the custom shipping label image and/or other shipmentinformation for display to the electronic shipping label device fordisplay at a display of the electronic shipping label device.

In some cases, the display of the electronic shipping label device is anelectronic paper (e.g., electronic ink or e-ink) display. In some cases,the graphical output of the display is persistent. As used herein, a“persistent graphical output” may refer to a graphical output that, onceit is provided (e.g., once a shipping label image or other shipmentinformation is displayed on the display), the graphical output may bemaintained on the display indefinitely and/or without consuming powerfrom and internal power source (e.g., a battery) or an external powersource. In some cases, the display is configured to maintain thegraphical output (e.g., the shipping label image) on the display withoutconsuming power from and internal power source (e.g., a battery) or anexternal power source. In some cases, the graphical output of thedisplay may be cleared from the display and a new graphical output maybe provided, for example to display a new shipping label image orshipment information corresponding to a different shipment of an item.In some cases, one or more portions of the graphical output of thedisplay may be updated or altered without clearing the graphical outputfrom the display. In some cases, the display mimics the appearance ofordinary ink on paper. The electronic paper display may be implementedusing any suitable technology, including electrophoretic displaytechnology, electrowetting display (EWD) technology, electrofluidicdisplay technology, and the like.

The custom shipping label image may provide information regarding theshipment, including shipping parameters, such as addresses and the like.The electronic shipping label device may be attached to an item (e.g., agolf bag, a suitcase, luggage, a shipping container, or other items) toprovide the information contained in the custom shipping label image tothe carrier during the shipment. In some cases, the electronic shippinglabel device includes an attachment mechanism for attaching theelectronic shipping label device to the golf bag. The attachmentmechanism may allow the electronic shipping label device to bereleasably attached to the item so that the electronic shipping labeldevice may be removed from the item and placed on another item. In somecases, the electronic shipping label device is permanently attached orintegrated with a shippable item, such as a golf bag, suitcase, shippingcontainer, or the like.

The term “attached,” as used herein, may be used to refer to two or moreelements, structures, objects, components, parts or the like that arephysically affixed, fastened, and/or retained to one another. The term“coupled,” as used herein, may be used to refer to two or more elements,structures, objects, components, parts or the like that are physicallyattached to one another, operate with one another, communicate with oneanother, are in electrical connection with one another, and/or otherwiseinteract with one another. Accordingly, while elements attached to oneanother are coupled to one another, the reverse is not required. As usedherein, “operably coupled” or “electrically coupled” may be used torefer to two or more devices that are coupled in any suitable manner foroperation and/or communication, including wiredly, wirelessly, or somecombination thereof.

These and other embodiments are discussed below with reference to FIGS.1-10. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that thedetailed description given herein with respect to these figures is forexplanatory purposes only and should not be construed as limiting.

FIG. 1 depicts an example system for configuring an electronic shippinglabel device for use in shipping an item, such as a golf bag. The system100 includes an electronic shipping label device 106, a host device 108,a system server 110, and one or more third party systems 114. Theysystem 100 also includes a network 120 that enables communicationbetween the electronic shipping label device 106, the host device 108,the system server 110, and the one or more third party systems 114.

In accordance with the embodiments described herein, the electronicshipping label device 106 may include a display 107 for displaying agraphical output. In some cases, the graphical output may be a shippinglabel image or shipment information corresponding to a shipment of anitem by a shipping carrier. In some cases, the electronic shipping labeldevice 106 is attached to the item, and the displayed shipping labelimage is used by the shipping carrier to ship the item from an origin toa destination. Example electronic shipping label devices are describedin more detail below with respect to FIGS. 7 and 9.

In some cases, the host device 108 is used to configure the graphicaloutput of the electronic shipping label device 106 by sending commands,shipment information, and/or shipping label images to the electronicshipping label device. The host device 108 may be operably coupled tothe system server 110 and/or the third party systems 114 (e.g., ashipping carrier system) to transmit shipping parameters correspondingto the shipment of the item and receive shipping label images and/orother shipment information corresponding to the shipment.

In some cases, the host device 108 transmits an initiation request withshipping parameters to the system server 110 to initiate a shipmentprocess. The system server 110 may communicate the shipping parametersto one or more third party systems 114 (e.g., a shipping carrier system)as part of a shipping request. A third party system 114 may respond tothe shipping request by transmitting shipment information, including ashipping label image or shipment information to be displayed by theelectronic shipping label device 106 portions or elements of a shippinglabel image, or other information that may be used to formulate ashipping label image. The system server 110 may formulate the shippinglabel image and transmit the shipping label image and/or other shipmentinformation to the host device 108, and the host device 108 may transmitthe shipping label image to the electronic shipping label device 106 fordisplay on the display 107.

In some cases, the display 107 is an electronic paper (e.g., electronicink or e-ink) display. In some cases, as noted above, the graphicaloutput provided by the display is persistent in that once the graphicaloutput of the display 107 is set (e.g., once a shipping label image isdisplayed on the display 107), the graphical output may be maintained onthe display indefinitely without electricity and/or without consumingpower from and internal power source (e.g., a battery) or an externalpower source. In some cases, the graphical output of the display 107 maybe cleared from the display and a new graphical output may be provided,for example to display a new shipping label image corresponding to adifferent shipment of an item. In some cases, one or more portions ofthe graphical output of the display 107 may be updated or alteredwithout clearing the graphical output from the display. In some cases,the display 107 mimics the appearance of ordinary ink on paper. Theelectronic paper display may be implemented using any suitabletechnology, including electrophoretic display technology, electrowettingdisplay (EWD) technology, electrofluidic display technology, and thelike.

As noted above, the host device 108 may by operably coupled to theelectronic shipping label device 106 and may transmit data (e.g. imagedata corresponding to a shipping label image) and commands to theelectronic shipping label device. Commands sent from the host device 108to the electronic shipping label device 106 may include a command todisplay a shipping label image using the display 107, a command to clearor modify the graphical output of the display 107, a status updaterequest, and the like. The electronic shipping label device 106 mayprovide responses to commands or otherwise communicate with the hostdevice 108 to indicate that a shipping label image has been received, toindicate that the electronic shipping label device has executed commands(e.g., that the graphical output of the display 107 has been cleared ormodified, that the display 107 has been updated to display a shippinglabel image), and/or to provide status updates (e.g., device memoryavailability, device error reports, battery status). Commands and datatransmitted between host devices and electronic shipping label devicesare discussed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 2 and 4.

The host device 108 may be a portable electronic device or a personalelectronic device including, for example, a mobile phone, tablet, orother similar device. However, the host device 108 may be one of avariety of computing devices including, for example, a personalcomputer, work station, terminal, mobile computer, mobile device,smartphone, tablet, a multimedia console, or the like. In some case, thehost device 108 is connected to the electronic shipping label device 106via a local area network or a personal area network, (e.g., WI-FI,BLUETOOTH LE, etc.), a cellular network (e.g., GSM, LTE, or othercellular network), or the like. In some cases, the electronic shippinglabel device 106 may connect directly with the shipping managementsystem 102.

In some cases, the host device 108 provides an interface 118 (e.g., agraphical user interface) for a user to access a shipping managementsystem 102 executed or otherwise embodied on the network 120. Forexample, users may initiate a shipping process, provide shippingparameters, and the like using the interface 118. The interface 118 maybe implemented via a web browser or other Internet-enabled interface,such as executing as an application within an operating system the hostdevice 108. In some embodiments, a component or portion of the shippingmanagement system 102 is executed on a system server 110 or othernetwork device(s) connected via the network 120. The shipping managementsystem 102 may also be operably connected to one or more databases 112.Thus, at least one component or portion of the shipping managementsystem 102 may be executed on the system server 110 and/or one or moreportions may be executed on the host device 108 (e.g., through theinterface 118). The interface 118 is discussed in more detail below withrespect to FIG. 8.

In general, the system server 110 hosts the shipping management system102. In some implementations, the system server 110 also hosts a webserver 104 or an application that users may use to access components ofthe system 100. The system server 110 may include a single server, aplurality of servers with each such server being a physical server or avirtual machine, or a collection of both physical servers and virtualmachines. In another implementation, a distributed network (e.g., acloud computing system) hosts one or more components of the system 100.

In some cases, the shipping management system 102 may communicate withone or more third party systems 114 connected to or otherwise incommunication with the network 120. For example, a third party system114 may include a computing network associated with one or more partiesthat provide shipping services (e.g., shipping carriers, shippingbrokers, and the like). The shipping management system 102 maycommunicate with the third party systems 114 to request and receiveshipping quotes, enter into shipping agreements, receive shipmentinformation (including shipping label images), and the like.

In some cases, the label formatting of a third-party shipping labelimage received from a third-party system 114 may be incompatible withthe electronic shipping label devices 106. It may be difficult orimpossible for the electronic shipping label devices 106 to properlydisplay some third-party shipping label images as they are received dueto formatting characteristics of the third-party shipping labels. Forexample, it may be difficult or impossible for the display 107 of anelectronic shipping label device 106 to display a third-party shippinglabel image based on its resolution, size, or aspect ratio. A resolutionof the third-party shipping label image may be greater than a resolutionof the display 107. Similarly, scaling a third-party shipping labelimage to a size or aspect ratio of the display 107 may result in datacorruption or loss as a result of scaling problems, resolution problems,and other issues. Additionally, third-party shipping label imagesreceived from different shipping carriers may be formatted differentlyfrom one another, including having different sizes, aspect ratios,resolutions, arrangements of elements, and other characteristics. As aresult, it may be difficult or impossible for the electronic shippinglabel devices 106 to properly display some or all third-party shippinglabel images as they are received.

The shipping management system 102 and/or the host device 108 may beconfigured to extract relevant information from shipping label images toconstruct custom label images for the electronic shipping label devices106. The custom shipping label images may be formatted such that theelectronic shipping label devices 106 can properly display the necessaryinformation contained in third-party shipping labels. This may alsoallow the shipping management system 102 to facilitate shipments usingmultiple different shipping carriers.

The shipping management system 102 may also communicate with othersystems using the network 120. For example, the shipping managementsystem 102 may communicate with one or more databases 112 available toaccess and store information via the network 120. For example, userinformation and/or shipping parameters may be stored in the database112. User information may include user preferences, default shippingparameters, user account information, and the like.

The databases 112 may include an inventory of electronic shipping labeldevices 106. This inventory may be updated as devices are delivered fromthe manufacturer. The inventory may be updated manually or by utilizingan application programming interface to receive inventory informationfrom one or more manufacturers in real-time. Inventory information mayalso be received in a specially formatted document file. The inventoryinformation may then be imported into the system using an administrativeuser interface. Each electronic shipping label device 106 may beidentified by a unique ID that can be used to store information aboutthat device in the database 112.

The shipping management system 102 may provide an interface for allowingelectronic shipping label devices 106 to be purchased. A customer mayprovide identifying information, including, name, address, phone number,and email address. The customer may also provide payment informationthat can be used to pay for the electronic shipping label device 106.Once the payment is completed the electronic shipping label devices 106purchased will be assigned to the user in the inventory database.

The shipping management system 102 may provide an interface that allowsthe customer to manage their inventory of electronic shipping labeldevices 106. The customer may be able to view their electronic shippinglabel devices 106 in an account management interface. This interface maycontain an image of the last label image downloaded to an electronicshipping label device 106. This interface may also allow the customer toview real-time tracking information on the electronic shipping labeldevice 106 if the device is so equipped. Real-time tracking informationmay be implemented in a number of ways, including GPS, IP addresstracking, cell phone tower triangulation or other means. The trackinginformation may also reflect the last known location of the digitallabel. This may be useful where luggage is lost or stolen.

The shipping management system 102 may provide an interface that allowsthe user to store information about each electronic shipping labeldevice 106 they own or are otherwise associated. The user may be able toassign each electronic shipping label device 106 a name, description,number, or other descriptive properties to personalize the electronicshipping label device record. This system may be configured to allow thecustomer to add an electronic shipping label device 106 to thecustomer's profile, temporarily allow the electronic shipping labeldevice to be added if it is being properly shared, or refuse to add theelectronic shipping label device if it has been reported stolen.

The network 120 may include personal area networks, local area networks,and/or large area networks that are configured to relay data to thevarious devices of the system 100. The network 120 may include, forexample, the Internet, an intranet, an Ethernet network, a wirednetwork, a wireless network, or the like. In some cases, the network 120includes multiple types of networks. For example, the host device 108may be connected to the electronic shipping label device 106 via apersonal area network (e.g., a BLUETOOTH LE network) or a cellularnetwork (e.g., GSM, LTE, or other cellular network), and the host device108 may be connected to the system server 110 via a large area network(e.g., the Internet). The cellular connection allows the label data tobe updated remotely if the customer is separated from the package. Forexample, to update an electronic shipping label device 106 while ashipment is in transit.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting example operations of a method 200for configuring an electronic shipping label device for use in shippingan item. In some cases, the method 200 may be performed using theelectronic shipping label device 106, the host device 108, the systemserver 110, and the third party system(s) 114 discussed above withrespect to FIG. 1.

At operation 202, the host device 108 transmits shipping parameterscorresponding to a shipment to the system server 110. The shippingparameters may include information regarding a shipment. Exampleshipping parameters include destination addresses, return or originaddresses, shipment initiation date, shipment delivery date, billinginformation (payment information, billing address, etc.), customercontact information (e.g., names, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.),shipment item information (e.g., type of item, number of items in ashipment, item dimensions, item weight, packaging information), shippinginsurance preferences, and the like.

Shipping parameters may be received via the interface 118 of the hostdevice 108, as discussed with respect to FIGS. 1 and 8. In some cases,shipping parameters may be received by a host device 108 and stored inat the system server 110, for example as part of a user's account of theshipping management system 102. In some cases, shipping parameters arestored at the host device 108 after receipt at the host device 108 andtransmitted to the system server 110 as needed, such as with aninitiation request.

In some cases, shipping parameters corresponding to a particularshipment may be received at multiple different times and/or frommultiple different host devices 108. In some cases, some shippingparameters may be stored by the shipping management system 102 andreused for multiple different shipments. For example, customer contactinformation, addresses, and billing information may be received once andstored at the shipping management system 102, and used as shippingparameters for multiple subsequent shipments. Other shipping parameters,such as shipment item information, addresses, and dates may be receivedfrom users for each shipment.

At operation 204, the host device 108 transmits an initiation request tothe system server 110. The initiation request notifies the shippingmanagement system 102 that a user wishes to initiate a shipment. Aninitiation request may be transmitted to the system server 110 inresponse to a user initiating a shipment using the interface 118 of thehost device 108. As noted above, the initiation request may include someor all of the shipping parameters corresponding to the shipment.

At operation 206, the system server 110 transmits a shipping requestcorresponding to the shipment to one or more third party systems 114.The shipping request may be sent in response to receipt of theinitiation request. In some cases, the shipping request includesshipping parameters corresponding to the shipment. As noted above, theshipping parameters may be received as part of the initiation requestand/or retrieved from storage at the system server 110. The shippingrequest may be sent to one or more shipping carriers or other shippingservice providers to request performance of the shipment desired by theuser.

In some cases, the system server 110 may send a request for a pricequote corresponding to the shipment to the third party system(s) priorto transmitting the shipping request. The system server 110 may receiveone or more price quotes in response to the shipping request. In somecases, the system server 110 selects the best price or otherwise selectsthe best price quote automatically. In some cases, the system server 110transmits information regarding the price quote(s) to the host device108 and allows the user to select from one or more options or cancel theshipment. In response to selection of a quote, the system server 110 maytransmit the shipping request to the selected carrier or broker.

At operation 208, the system server 110 receives shipment informationcorresponding to the shipment from one or more third party systems 114.In some cases, shipment information is received in response to theshipping request. Shipment information is information provided by athird-party system 114 that will perform the shipment. Shipmentinformation may include a third-party shipping label image, third-partylabel elements, or other shipping label information, trackinginformation, payment confirmation information, and the like. Theshipment information may be stored at the system server 110. In somecases, a third-party shipping label image is generated by and receivedfrom the third-party system.

As noted above with respect to FIG. 1, in some cases, a third-partyshipping label image received from a third-party system 114 may beincompatible with the electronic shipping label devices 106. It may bedifficult or impossible for the electronic shipping label devices 106 toproperly display some third-party shipping label images as they arereceived due to formatting characteristics of the third-party shippinglabels. For example, it may be difficult or impossible for the display107 of an electronic shipping label device 106 to display a third-partyshipping label image based on its resolution, size, or aspect ratio. Aresolution of the third-party shipping label image may be greater than aresolution of the display 107. Similarly, scaling a third-party shippinglabel image to a size or aspect ratio of the display 107 may result indata corruption or loss as a result of scaling problems, resolutionproblems, and other issues. Additionally, third-party shipping labelimages received from different shipping carriers may be formatteddifferently from one another, including having different sizes, aspectratios, resolutions, arrangements of elements, and othercharacteristics. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for theelectronic shipping label devices 106 to properly display some or allthird-party shipping label images as they are received.

In some cases, a custom shipping label image is formulated by the systemserver 110 based on the shipment information. In some cases, formulatingthe shipping label image includes reformatting, resizing, or otherwiseprocessing a third-party shipping label image for display using theelectronic shipping label device 106. The system server 110 may extractrelevant information from shipping label images to construct customshipping label images for the electronic shipping label devices 106. Thecustom label images may be formatted such that the electronic shippinglabel devices 106 can properly display the necessary informationcontained in third-party shipping labels.

In various embodiments, formulating a custom shipping label image mayinclude extracting third-party label elements from a third-partyshipping label image, generating custom label elements for the customshipping label image, and/or assembling the custom shipping label imageusing the custom label elements. Formulating a custom shipping label mayadditionally or alternatively include modifying a third-party shippinglabel image received from the third-party system, assembling and/ormodifying portions or elements of multiple third-party shipping labelimages, assembling and/or modifying shipment information and/orinformation stored at the system server 110, and the like. The hostdevice and/or the system server may formulate the custom shipping labelimage based on information regarding the electronic shipping labeldevice, including a storage capacity of a memory, display resolution,display size, display aspect ratio. The information about the electronicshipping label device may be received from the electronic shipping labeldevice and/or stored at the host device and/or the system server.

In some cases, formulating a custom shipping label image may includeidentifying third-party label elements of a third-party shipping labelimage and performing item-by-item transformations on each third-partylabel elements to generate custom label elements for the custom shippinglabel image. In various embodiments, scaling or otherwise uniformlyconverting an entire third-party label image for display on anelectronic shipping label device may not be feasible, so differentthird-party label elements of a third-party shipping label image mayundergo different transformations. Formulating custom shipping labelimages is discussed in more detail below with respect to FIGS. 5A, 5B,and 6.

At operation 210, the system server 110 transmits the custom shippinglabel image corresponding to the shipment to the host device 108. Insome cases, the system server 110 transmits the shipment information tothe host device 108, and the host device 108 formulates the customshipping label image. In some cases, the system server 110 transmitsadditional shipment information along with the custom shipping labelimage to the host device 108 for storage at the host device 108 and/oraccess or viewing by the user. This may include shipment informationthat is not included in the third-party shipping label image and/or thecustom shipping label image.

At operation 212, the host device 108 transmits the custom shippinglabel image to the electronic shipping label device 106 for display onthe electronic shipping label device 106. The custom shipping labelimage may be specifically formatted for proper display on a display ofthe electronic shipping label device. In some cases, portions of thecustom shipping label image may be sent separately. For example, customshipping label image data may be divided into packets that are sent tothe electronic shipping label device 106 at different times.

In some cases, the host device 108 transmits commands to the electronicshipping label device 106 in addition to the image data corresponding tothe custom shipping label image. Commands may be sent before, during, orafter sending the custom shipping label image data. For example, in somecases, the host device 108 transmits a command to clear a memory and/ora display of the electronic shipping label device 106 prior to sendingthe custom shipping label image data. The electronic shipping labeldevice 106 may clear graphical output (e.g., a prior shipping labelimage) from the display and/or delete image data (e.g., shipping labelimage data) from the memory in response to receiving the command. Insome cases, electronic shipping label device 106 may clear graphicaloutput (e.g., a prior shipping label image) from the display and/ordelete image data (e.g., shipping label image data) from the memoryautomatically in response to receiving new image data, after apredetermined time period, or the like. In some cases, the host device108 transmits a command to display the shipping label image using thedisplay after the custom shipping label image is received by theelectronic shipping label device 106. In some cases, the host device 108transmits status requests or requests for confirmation of receipt ofimage data and/or commands.

In response to receiving the custom shipping label image, the electronicshipping label device 106 may display the custom shipping label image ona display of the electronic shipping label device. The custom shippinglabel image may provide information regarding the shipment, includingshipping parameters, such as addresses and the like, as discussed inmore detail below with respect to FIGS. 5A and 5B. The electronicshipping label device 106 may be attached to the shipment item andtendered to the shipping carrier for transport.

As noted above, in some cases, the display is an electronic paperdisplay. In some cases, once the custom shipping label image isdisplayed, it may be maintained on the display indefinitely withoutelectricity and/or without regard to whether the electronic shippinglabel device 106 is in communication with the host device 108.

At operation 214, the electronic shipping label device 106 transmitsconfirmation to the host device 108 that the custom shipping label imagehas been received. The electronic shipping label device 106 may transmitthe confirmation in response to a request for confirmation or without arequest. In some cases, the confirmation indicates that a portion (e.g.,a packet) of the custom shipping label image data has been received, andmultiple confirmations are transmitted to the host device 108 duringand/or transfer of the custom shipping label image data. In some cases,the electronic shipping label device 106 performs a verification ofreceived and/or stored data to ensure data quality or detect errors, forexample using a checksum. In some cases, the confirmation sent to theelectronic shipping label device 106 may include a checksum result. Insome cases, the electronic shipping label device 106 may transmitconfirmation that commands have been received.

In some cases, after a shipment has been completed (e.g., the item hasbeen delivered or the shipment canceled), or in the event that ashipment is modified, the custom shipping label image displayed by theelectronic shipping label device 106 may be modified or cleared andreplaced (e.g., in response to a command from the host device 108). Oneor more of the operations of the method 200 may be repeated to modify orclear and replace the custom shipping label image displayed by theelectronic shipping label device 106.

In some cases, updated shipping parameters are received for a shipment.For example, a user may change a destination address, an arrival date,or the like. In some cases, the custom shipping label image is alreadydisplayed by the electronic shipping label device 106. The host device108 may receive updated the shipping parameters corresponding to theshipment and transmit the updated shipping parameters to the systemserver 110. The system server 110 may transmit an updated shippingrequest to the third-party system corresponding to the shipping carrierfor the shipment and may receive updated shipment information, such asan updated third-party shipping label image, in response. The systemserver 110 and/or the host device 108 may modify the custom shippinglabel image and/or formulate an updated custom shipping label image andtransmit the updated custom shipping label image to the electronicshipping label device 106. In some cases, the system server 110 and/or athird-party system may communicate updates to a custom shipping labeldirectly to the electronic shipping label device 106, for example over acellular data network. This may allow the custom shipping label imagedisplayed by an electronic shipping label device 106 to be updated evenif it is not in communication with a host device, such as duringtransit. In some cases, the electronic shipping label device 106modifies the displayed custom shipping label image (e.g., changesportions of the displayed custom shipping label image to reflect theupdated custom shipping label image). In some cases, the electronicshipping label device 106 clears the displayed custom shipping labelimage and displays the updated custom shipping label image.

In various embodiments, multiple host devices 108 may be used with asingle electronic shipping label device 106. In some cases, anelectronic shipping label device 106 may be configured for a firstshipment using a first host device 108 and configured for a second,subsequent shipment using a second host device 108. Similarly, a singlehost device 108 may be used with multiple electronic shipping labeldevices 106. For example, a single host device 108 may configure andmanage multiple electronic shipping label devices 106 associated withthe same or different shipments, having the same or differentdestination information, having the same or different shipping carriers,and the like.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart depicting example operations of a method 300 forconfiguring an electronic shipping label device for use in shipping anitem. The method 300 may be performed by a host device (e.g., hostdevice 108) or another suitable electronic device. The operations of themethod 300 are discussed in more detail above with respect to FIG. 2.

At operation 302, the host device receives, at a graphical userinterface operated on the host device (e.g., interface 118), a requestto initiate a shipment of an item using an electronic shipping labeldevice (e.g., electronic shipping label device 106) and shippingparameters (e.g., destination information) corresponding to theshipment.

At operation 304, the host device transmits, to a system server (e.g.,system server 110), an initiation request to formulate a custom shippinglabel corresponding to the shipping parameters. In various embodiments,the initiation request may include some or all of the shippingparameters corresponding to the shipment of the item. In some cases,some or all of the shipping parameters may be transmitted to the systemserver separately from the initiation request and/or stored at thesystem server.

At operation 306, the host device receives the custom shipping labelimage for display on the electronic shipping label device. The customshipping label image may be received from the system server. The systemserver may perform at least some of the steps for formulating the customshipping label image as described below with respect to FIG. 5. Forexample, the system server may use a third-party shipping label imageand/or other shipment information received from a third-party system inresponse to a shipping request that includes the shipping parametersbeing sent from the system server to the third-party system. The customshipping label image may provide information regarding the shipment,including shipping parameters, such as addresses and the like, asdiscussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 5B.

In some cases, the host device may perform at least some of the stepsfor formulating the custom shipping label image as described withrespect to FIG. 5. The host device may receive a third-party shippinglabel image, third-party label elements, custom label elements, and/orother shipment information from the system server and/or a third-partysystem (e.g., a system associated with a shipping carrier). The hostdevice and/or the system server may formulate the custom shipping labelimage based on information regarding the electronic shipping labeldevice, including a storage capacity of a memory, display resolution,display size, display aspect ratio. The information about the electronicshipping label device may be received from the electronic shipping labeldevice and/or stored at the host device and/or the system server.

At operation 308, the host device transmits the custom shipping labelimage to the electronic shipping label device. As noted above, theelectronic shipping label device may be configured to display the customshipping label image using a display (e.g., an electronic paper display)of the electronic shipping label device. The custom shipping label imagemay be specifically formatted for proper display on the display of theelectronic shipping label device.

As discussed in more detail with regard to FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, theelectronic shipping label device may include a memory for storing thecustom shipping label image and a battery for powering the electronicshipping label device. In some cases, the electronic shipping labeldevice receives the custom shipping label image, stores the shippinglabel image in the memory, and displays the custom shipping label imageon the display.

At operation 310, the host device receives a confirmation from theelectronic shipping label device that the custom shipping label imagehas been received. In some cases, the electronic shipping label devicedisplays the custom shipping label image in response to a determinationthat the transmission of the custom shipping label image is complete. Insome cases, the electronic shipping label device determines that thetransmission of the custom shipping label image is complete. In somecases, the host device determines that the transmission of the customshipping label image is complete, for example using a checksum sent fromthe electronic shipping label device to the host device. The host devicemay send a command to the electronic shipping label device to displaythe custom shipping label image in response to determining that thetransmission of the custom shipping label image is complete.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart depicting example operations of a method 400 forconfiguring an electronic shipping label device for use in shipping anitem. The method 400 may be performed by a system server (e.g., systemserver 110) or another suitable electronic device. The operations of themethod 400 are discussed in more detail above with respect to FIG. 2. Insome cases, the method 400 is performed in response to a user of thehost device initiating a shipment of an item using an electronicshipping label device (e.g., electronic shipping label device 106) asdiscussed with respect to FIG. 3. At operation 402, the system serverreceives an initiation request from a host device (e.g., host device108). As discussed above, the initiation request may include shippingparameters corresponding to the shipment of the item.

At operation 404, the system server transmits a shipping request to athird-party system (e.g., a third-party system 114). In some cases, theshipping request includes shipping parameters corresponding to shipmentof the item as well as a request to perform shipment of the item. Atoperation 406, the system server receives shipment information from thethird-party system. The shipment information may include trackinginformation, shipping parameters, and the like. The shipment informationmay include a third-party shipping label image, portions or elements ofa third-party shipping label image, or other information that may beused to formulate a custom shipping label image. An example third-partylabel image is described below with respect to FIG. 5A.

At operation 408, the custom shipping label image is formulated by thesystem server based on received shipment information. The system servermay perform at least some of the steps for formulating the customshipping label image as described below with respect to FIG. 6. Forexample, the system server may use a third-party shipping label imageand/or other shipment information received from a third-party system inresponse to a shipping request that includes the shipping parametersbeing sent from the system server to the third-party system. An examplecustom shipping label image is described below with respect to FIG. 5B.

In some cases, the host device may perform at least some of the stepsfor formulating the custom shipping label image as described withrespect to FIG. 6. The system server may transmit a third-party shippinglabel image, third-party label elements, custom label elements, and/orother shipment information to the host device. The host device and/orthe system server may formulate the custom shipping label image based oninformation regarding the electronic shipping label device, including astorage capacity of a memory, display resolution, display size, displayaspect ratio. The information about the electronic shipping label devicemay be received from the electronic shipping label device and/or storedat the host device and/or the system server.

At operation 410, the system server transmits the custom shipping labelimage to the host device. In some cases, the host device is configuredto transmit the shipping label image to the electronic shipping labeldevice for display at a display (e.g., an electronic paper display) ofthe electronic shipping label device. The custom shipping label imagemay be specifically formatted for proper display on the display of theelectronic shipping label device.

As noted above, in some cases, a custom shipping label image may beformulated using a third-party shipping label image. FIG. 5A depicts anexample third-party shipping label image 500. The third-party shippinglabel image 500 may provide shipment information for use by shippingcarriers and other parties to facilitate shipment of the item. As shownin FIG. 5A, the third-party shipping label image 500 may includethird-party label elements (e.g., third-party label elements 502 a-g)that include graphical content and/or text relating to the shippingparameters corresponding to the shipment. In the example third-partyshipping label image 500, the third-party label elements include anorigin address element 502 a, a destination address element 502 b, abarcode element 502 c, a shipper logo element 502 d, a tracking numberelement 502 e, a barcode element 502 f, and a shipment code element 502g. The third-party label elements 502 a-g may be used by a shippingcarrier to identify the item for shipment using a system of the shippingcarrier. The third-party shipping label image 500 is an examplethird-party shipping label image, and is not intended to be limiting. Invarious embodiments, third-party shipping label images may includedifferent third-party label elements positioned or arranged in differentways. Additional or alternative third-party label elements may includeelements representing any information about the shipment or partiesinvolved with the shipment, including but not limited to a deliverydate, an item weight, a shipment price, insurance information, and thelike. In various cases, the third-party shipping label image 500 may bea graphical representation of any shipment information that may be usedby a shipping carrier to transport an item in combination with any otherinformation.

The system server may analyze the third-party shipping label image 500to identify third-party label elements and/or label formatting of thethird-party shipping label image. Identifying third-party label elementsmay include identifying element characteristics of the third-party labelelements, which describe traits of the label elements. Elementcharacteristics may include element types, dimensions, formatting,resolution, color information, and the like. An element type of a labelelement may specify a type of information that included in a labelelement, such as numeric text, alphanumeric text, a barcode, an image, alogo, and the like.

The third-party shipping label image 500 may be formatted for printingthe third-party shipping label image and affixing the printed label toan item as is common in traditional shipping methods. Label formattingmay include a label image's dimension(s), aspect ratio, resolution,arrangement or relative positioning of label elements, colorinformation, and the like. Label formatting may be selected by the thirdparty that provides the third-party shipping label image to be suitablefor printing. For example, the label formatting of a third-partyshipping label may be optimized for printing using a laser printer.

The system server may analyze a third-party shipping label image todetermine label formatting to determine whether the third-party shippinglabel image is compatible with or otherwise suitable for an electronicshipping label device. The system server may use device informationrelating to the electronic shipping label device to determine if athird-party shipping label image is compatible with the electronicshipping label device. The device information may include displaycharacteristics of the electronic shipping label device, includingdisplay resolution, display size or dimensions, display aspect ratio,colors capable of being displayed by the display, and the like. Thedevice information may further include other characteristics of theelectronic shipping label device, including memory storage capacity,current memory utilization, data transfer capabilities, and the like.Device information may be received with from a shipping request orseparately and/or maintained at the system server.

In some cases, the system server may determine that the third-partyshipping label image is incompatible with the electronic shipping labeldevice and that a custom shipping label image should be formulated. Thelabel formatting of the third-party shipping label may be incompatiblewith or otherwise unsuitable for display on an electronic shipping labeldevice, storage on the electronic shipping label device or anotherdevice, and/or transmission to or from the electronic shipping labeldevice or another device. It may be difficult or impossible for thedisplay of an electronic shipping label device to display a third-partyshipping label image based on its resolution, size, or aspect ratio. Asize or resolution of the third-party shipping label image may begreater than a size or resolution of the display. For example, athird-party shipping label image may have a resolution of around 600 dpito 2400 dpi, while an electronic paper display of an electronic shippinglabel device may have a resolution of 300 dpi or less. Resizing orotherwise uniformly converting an entire third-party shipping labelimage to a size, resolution, or aspect ratio of the display may resultin data corruption or loss as a result of scaling problems, resolutionproblems, and other issues. Additionally, third-party shipping labelimages received from different shipping carriers may be formatteddifferently from one another, including having different sizes, aspectratios, resolutions, arrangements of elements, and othercharacteristics. As a result, it may be difficult or impossible for theelectronic shipping label devices to properly display some or allthird-party shipping label images as they are received. As such, it maybe desirable to formulate custom shipping label images that arecompatible with electronic shipping label devices.

FIG. 5B depicts an example custom shipping label image 510 that displayssome or all of the shipment information contained in the third-partyshipping label image 500 in a format that is compatible with anelectronic shipping label device. As shown in FIG. 5B, the customshipping label image 510 may have a custom layout that differs from thelayout of the third-party shipping label image 510. The custom shippinglabel image 510 may have different label formatting compared to thethird-party shipping label image 500. The custom shipping label image510 may have a different label size, aspect ratio, and/or resolutioncompared to the third-party shipping label.

The custom shipping label image 510 may include a set of custom labelelements 512 a-f that have different element characteristics and/or arearranged differently compared to the third-party label elements of thethird-party shipping label image 500. One or more of the custom labelelements 512 a-f may correspond to a respective third-party labelelement 502 a-f of the third-party shipping label image. As described inmore detail below with respect to FIG. 6, generating the custom shippinglabel image may include performing a transformation of one or more ofthe third-party label elements 502 a-g to generate each third-partylabel element's corresponding custom label element. In the examplecustom shipping label image 510, the custom label elements include anorigin address element 512 a that corresponds to the origin addresselement 502 a, a destination address element 512 b that corresponds tothe destination address element 502 b, a barcode element 512 c thatcorresponds to the barcode element 502 c, a tracking number element 512e that corresponds to the tracking number element 502 e, a barcodeelement 512 f that corresponds to the barcode element 502 f.

As described in more detail below with respect to FIG. 6, atransformation of a third-party label element may include any suitableoperations for generating the custom label element based on thethird-party label element. Example transformations may include scalingoperations, cropping operations, data extraction operations, andregeneration operations. The transformation may be determined byanalyzing third-party element characteristics of the third-party labelelement and desired custom element characteristics of the custom labelelement.

Additionally or alternatively, one or more custom label elements 512 a-fmay be generated without performing a transformation on a correspondingthird-party label element. In some cases, a custom label element may begenerated using shipment information, information stored at the systemserver, information retrieved from other sources, and the like. Forexample, the custom label elements may include a logo element 512 d thatis generated from data stored at the system server. Other custom labelelements may include information not contained in the third-partyshipping label image, including shipment information, user information,and the like.

The custom label elements 522 a-f may be used by a shipping carrier toidentify the item for shipment using a system of the shipping carrier.The custom shipping label image 510 is an example custom shipping labelimage, and is not intended to be limiting. In various embodiments,custom shipping label images may include different custom label elementspositioned or arranged in different ways. Additional or alternativecustom label elements may include elements representing any informationabout the shipment or parties involved with the shipment, including butnot limited to a delivery date, an item weight, a shipment price,insurance information, and the like. In various cases, the customshipping label image 510 may be a graphical representation of anyshipment information that may be used by a shipping carrier to transportan item in combination with any other information.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart depicting example operations of a method 600 forformulating a custom shipping label image for use in shipping an itemusing an electronic shipping label device. The custom shipping labelimage may be specifically formatted for proper display on a display ofthe electronic shipping label device. The method 600 may be performed aspart of other methods for configuring an electronic shipping labeldevice, such as those described with respect to FIGS. 2-4. For example,the method 600 may be performed as part of operation 408 of the method400.

At operation 602, the system server may determine a layout for thecustom shipping label image. The custom shipping label image may includea set of custom label elements to be included in the custom shippinglabel image. The layout may specify target element characteristics foreach custom label element of the set of custom label elements. Targetelement characteristics for a custom label element may include anelement type, target dimensions for the custom label element, the customlabel element's position on the shipping label image or relative toother elements, custom label element formatting, resolution, colorinformation, and the like. The target dimensions for the custom labelelement may be dimensions of a region of the custom shipping label imagewhere the custom label element will be positioned. An element type of alabel element may specify a type of information that included in a labelelement, such as numeric text, alphanumeric text, a barcode, an image, alogo, and the like. The layout for the custom shipping label image mayspecify label formatting for the custom shipping label image. As notedherein, label formatting may include a label image's size, aspect ratio,resolution, arrangement or relative positioning of label elements, colorinformation, and the like.

The layout may be implemented as a template file generated usingdomain-specific language. The system server may use device informationrelating to the electronic shipping label device to determine one ormore layouts for an electronic shipping label device. The deviceinformation may include display characteristics of the electronicshipping label device, including display resolution, display size,display aspect ratio, colors capable of being displayed by the display,and the like. The device information may further include othercharacteristics of the electronic shipping label device, includingmemory storage capacity, current memory utilization, data transfercapabilities, and the like. Device information may be received with froma shipping request or separately and/or maintained at the system server.

The system server may generate and/or maintain multiple layouts.Different layouts may correspond to different electronic shipping labeldevices, different third-parties, and the like. In some cases, thelayout is generated or received separately from the initiation of aparticular shipment request, and determining the layout includesretrieving the layout from a storage location at the system server orelsewhere.

The system server may generate custom label elements for the customshipping label image according to the determined layout. In some cases,generating the custom label elements includes analyzing a third-partyshipping label image as described below with respect to operations604-608. Additionally or alternatively, generating the custom labelelements may include analyzing shipment information or otherinformation, and may not rely on analyzing a third-party shipping labelimage. For example, the system server may receive or retrieve shipmentinformation, user information, or the like corresponding to one or morecustom label elements and generate the custom label elements using theshipment information or user information. The custom label elements maybe used to generate a custom shipping label image as described belowwith respect to operation 610.

At operation 604, the system server may analyze a third-party shippinglabel image to identify a set of third-party label elements anddetermine third-party element characteristics for the third-party labelelements. The identified third-party label elements may correspond toone or more custom label elements for the custom shipping label image.Determining third-party element characteristics for a particularthird-party label element may include determining an element type and/ordimensions of the third-party label element for use in determining atransformation at operation 606 below.

Identifying the set of third-party label elements may include segmentingthe third-party shipping label image into the third-party labelelements. In some cases, the system server may store a template formultiple different type of third-party shipping label images thatspecifies the arrangement of third-party label elements in eachthird-party shipping label image. Identifying the set of third-partylabel elements may include determining which template applies to thereceived third-party shipping label image. Additionally oralternatively, identifying the set of third-party label elements mayinclude performing object, image, and/or text recognition operations onthe third-party shipping label image.

Additionally or alternatively, the system server may analyze thethird-party shipping label image to determine label characteristics ofthe third-party shipping label image, including include the labelimage's dimension(s), aspect ratio, resolution, arrangement or relativepositioning of label elements, color information, and the like.

At operation 606, the system server may determine a transformation foreach third-party label element of the set of third-party label elementsto generate a corresponding custom label element of the set of customlabel elements of the custom shipping image label. A transformation of athird-party label element may include a suitable operation forgenerating the custom label element based on the third-party labelelement. The transformation may be determined based on the third-partyelement characteristics of the third-party label element and the desiredcustom element characteristics of the custom label element. For example,the transformation may be based on changes that are necessary to adjustthe dimensions, formatting, resolution, and/or color information fromthose of the third-party label element to those of the custom labelelement. Example transformations may include scaling operations,cropping operations, data extraction operations, generating operations,compositing operations, color adjustment operations, and the like. Asnoted herein, scaling or otherwise uniformly converting an entirethird-party label image for display on an electronic shipping labeldevice may not be feasible, so different third-party label elements of athird-party shipping label image may undergo different transformations.

Scaling operations may include changing dimension(s), a resolution,and/or an aspect ratio of a label element or a portion thereof. Athird-party label element, or a portion thereof, may be scaled toconform to desired dimensions, a desired resolution, and/or a desiredaspect ratio specified by a custom layout. Cropping operations mayinclude removing or separating portion(s) of a third-party labelelement.

Data extraction operations may include object, image, or textrecognition operations or other operations to extract information from athird-party label element. Generating operations may include using dataextracted from the third-party label element to create the custom labelelement. For example, a code (e.g., a numeric or alphanumeric code)extracted from a barcode may be used to regenerate a new barcode withdesired element characteristics. As another example, text may beextracted from a third-party label element, for example by performingtext recognition on the text, and the extracted text may be used togenerate a new textual custom label element with desired elementcharacteristics, such as formatting and dimensions. Compositingoperations may include combining third-party label elements (or portionsthereof) and/or other information, such as shipment information. Coloradjustment operations may include changing a color depth or other colorinformation.

In some cases, the transformation may be determined based on an elementtype the third-party label element and/or the custom label element. Sometransformation operations may be suitable for certain element types, andnot suitable for others. For example, some text and/or barcodes may notbe able to be scaled or cropped. As another example, some barcodes maybe unable to be regenerated using data extraction methods, and so theymust be scaled. The system server may be capable of determining whichtransformation operations are suitable for a particular element type.

Determining a transformation for a third-party label element may includedetermining whether the third-party label element can be scaled orcropped to achieve the desired custom element characteristics. In somecases, scaling and cropping operations may be unsuitable fortransforming a particular label element. Scaling and cropping may causeaspect ratio or resolution problems that result in data loss impactingthe ability of the custom label element to be read by a human or ascanner. As one example, graphical objects that are scaled to a lowerresolution may undergo aliasing. This may make text unreadable or causea barcode to be unreadable or incorrect. The system server may determinewhether scaling or cropping to achieve desired custom elementcharacteristics will result in text being unreadable or a barcode beingunreadable or incorrect. In the case of a barcode, the system server maydetermine a type of the barcode and determine if a required amount ofscaling or cropping can be achieved without data loss. For example, aparticular type of barcode may be incapable of having a resolution belowa certain value and/or may be incapable of having its aspect ratiochanged more than a certain amount without data loss.

In accordance with determining that a third-party label element can bescaled or cropped to achieve desired custom element characteristics, thetransformation may include scaling or cropping the third-party labelelement to generate the custom label element, and may not include othertransformation operations. In accordance with determining that thethird-party label element cannot be scaled or cropped to achieve desiredcustom element characteristics, the transformation may includeextracting data from the third-party label element and generating thecustom label element using the extracted data.

Determining a transformation for a third-party label element may includedetermining whether a custom label element can be generated using dataextracted from the third-party label element. In accordance withdetermining that a custom label element can be generated using dataextracted from the third-party label element, the transformation mayinclude extracting data from the third-party label element andgenerating the custom label element using the extracted data. Inaccordance with determining that the data of a third-party label elementcannot be extracted and/or that the custom label element cannot begenerated in a manner sufficient to be read by human or scanning machineusing data extracted from the third-party label element, thetransformation may include scaling or cropping the third-party labelelement to generate the custom label element, and may not include othertransformation operations.

At operation 608, the system server may perform the transformationsdetermined in operation 606. The system server may perform eachdetermined transformation on each third-party label element to generateits corresponding custom label element. For a given third-party shippinglabel image, different transformations may be performed on differentthird-party label elements.

At operation 610, the system server may generate the custom shippinglabel image using the determined layout and the generated custom labelelements. Generating the custom shipping label image may includeassembling the generated custom label elements according to thedetermined layout.

The example operations of the method 600 are noted as being performed bythe system server. However, in various embodiments, one or more steps ofthe method 600 may be performed by the system server (e.g., systemserver 110), a host device (e.g., host device 108), an electronicshipping label device (e.g., electronic shipping label device 106),and/or another suitable electronic device. In some cases, the systemserver may receive shipment information in addition to or in lieu of athird-party shipping label image. The shipment information may be usedto formulate the custom shipping label image.

In some embodiments, one or more operations of the methods 200, 300,400, and 600 are omitted or performed in a different order. In someembodiments, additional or alternative operations that are not shown areperformed as part of the methods 200, 300, 400, and 600.

One may appreciate that although many embodiments are disclosed above,that the operations and steps presented with respect to methods andtechniques described herein are meant as exemplary and accordingly arenot exhaustive. One may further appreciate that alternate step order orfewer or additional operations may be required or desired for particularembodiments.

FIG. 7 depicts an example electronic shipping label device 706 that maybe used to provide information to shipping carrier agents and otherindividuals during shipment of an item, such as a golf bag. Theelectronic shipping label device 706 may include a device enclosure 750.A display 707 (e.g., an electronic paper display) may be positioned atleast partially within the device enclosure 750. As noted above, thedisplay 707 may be adapted to display a custom shipping label image 710corresponding to a shipment of an item. The custom shipping label image710 may be similar to the custom shipping label image 610 discussedabove with respect to FIG. 5B.

As noted above, the electronic shipping label device 706 may receive thecustom shipping label image 710 from a system server, and/or a hostdevice. The electronic shipping label device 706 may display a shippinglabel image from a third-party system, such as the third-party shippinglabel image 600 discussed above with respect to FIG. 5A.

As noted above, in some cases, the display 707 is an electronic paper(e.g., electronic ink or e-ink) display. In some cases, as noted above,the graphical output provided by the display is persistent in that oncethe graphical output of the display 707 is set (e.g., once a customshipping label image is displayed on the display 707), the graphicaloutput may be maintained on the display indefinitely without electricityand/or without consuming power from and internal power source (e.g., abattery) or an external power source. In some cases, the graphicaloutput of the display 707 may be cleared from the display and a newgraphical output may be provided, for example to display a new shippinglabel image corresponding to a different shipment of an item. In somecases, one or more portions of the graphical output of the display 707may be updated or altered without clearing the graphical output from thedisplay. In some cases, the display 707 mimics the appearance ofordinary ink on paper. The electronic paper display may be implementedusing any suitable technology, including electrophoretic displaytechnology, electrowetting display (EWD) technology, electrofluidicdisplay technology, and the like.

In some cases, some or all of the components of the electronic shippinglabel device 706 may be positioned within or partially within theenclosure 750. The enclosure 750 may be formed of any suitable materialor combination of materials, including plastic, glass, metal, and thelike. In some cases, the enclosure 750 is strengthened to prevent damageduring shipping and other activities. For example, in some cases, thedevice enclosure 750 may include glass-filled plastic.

In some cases, the electronic shipping label device 706 includes anattachment mechanism 753, which may be used to attach the electronicshipping label device to an item (e.g., luggage, a parcel, etc.)included in a shipment. For example, the electronic shipping labeldevice 706 may be attached to a golf bag for shipment of the golf bagfrom a first location to a second location (e.g., from a first golfcourse to a second golf course). The attachment mechanism 753 may bereleasably attachable to an item, such that the attachment mechanism maybe attached and subsequently removed from the item without damaging theattachment mechanism. In some cases, the attachment mechanism 753 may beused multiple times to attach the electronic shipping label device 7 tomultiple different items (or to the same item multiple times).

In some cases, the attachment mechanism 753 is coupled to the enclosure750 via an opening 752 (e.g., a through-hole) in the enclosure. Theattachment mechanism 753 may pass through the opening 752 and may betied or otherwise secured to the item for shipment. In some cases, theattachment mechanism 753 is an elastic member, such as an elastic bandthat passes through the opening 752. In other cases, the attachmentmechanism 753 may be a strap or other device that passes through theopening 752 and is adapted to be secured to one or more items. In stillother embodiments, the attachment mechanism 753 may include one or moreclips, snaps, buttons, or other devices suitable for securing theelectronic shipping label device 706 to an item. In some embodiments,the electronic shipping label device 706 may be permanently attached orintegrated with a shippable object or container, such as a parcel orshipping container.

In some cases, the electronic shipping label device 706 includes astatus indicator light 756. The status indicator light 756 may indicatea status of the electronic shipping label device 706, such as whetherthe device is powered on, a battery status (e.g., low battery), an errornotification, or the like. The status indicator light 756 may includeone or more light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and may be capable ofdisplaying multiple colors indicating different information. Forexample, a green light may indicate the device is powered on, a yellowlight may indicate low battery, and a red light may indicate an error atthe device. Alternatively or additionally, the status indicator light756 may be configured to flash, blink, or the like to provide additionalinformation.

In some cases, the electronic shipping label device 706 includes one ormore control buttons (e.g., a control button 754). The control button754 may be used to power the device on and off, to power the display ofthe device on and off, to perform a wireless pairing process withanother device (e.g., a host device), to check a status of the device,or the like.

FIG. 8 depicts an example interface 818 of a host device 808 that may beused to access a shipping management system. The interface 818 may beused to configure an electronic shipping label device for shipment of anitem and/or to provide shipping parameters associated with shipment ofan item. In the example of FIG. 8, the host device 808 is a portableelectronic device, such as a tablet or smartphone. This is provided asmerely an illustrative example. In other embodiments, the host device808 may include, without limitation, a desktop computing system, anotebook computing system, a terminal, an electronic kiosk, or othercomputing device configured to operate an interface 818. As shown inFIG. 8, the interface 818 (e.g., a graphical user interface) may includeprompts and/or user interface elements that allow users to provideinformation regarding a shipment (e.g., shipping parameters).

The interface 818 may include an origin address element 802 that allowsa user to provide an origin or return address for a shipment and adestination address element 804 that allows a user to provide adestination address for a shipment. In some cases, an origin or returnaddress and/or a destination address may be stored by the shippingmanagement system and automatically populated or provided as part of theinterface 818. In some cases, multiple origin or return addresses and/ora destination addresses may be stored by the shipping management systemand a user may be able to select from a list of addresses to provide theorigin address or destination address. In some cases, the origin orreturn address may be determined automatically, for example using alocation determination device (e.g., a global positioning system (GPS)device) of the host device 808 that indicates a current position of thedevice.

The interface 818 may include a customer information element 806 thatallows a user to provide customer information, such as the customer'sname, contact information (e.g., phone number, e-mail address, etc.),and the like. The interface 818 may include a date element 828 thatallows a user to provide a shipment initiation date and/or a targetdelivery date.

The interface 818 may include one or more item information elements 810,812 that allow a user to provide information regarding one or more itemsto be shipped. In some cases, a user may be able to use informationelements 810 to specify a number of golf bags to be shipped, along withthe size (e.g., dimensions, weight, etc.), packaging (e.g., box,hard-shell carrier, etc.), and insurance preferences (e.g., whether theuser wants to purchase shipping insurance). In some cases, the user maybe able to user information elements 812 to provide similar informationfor other types of luggage.

As noted above, shipping parameters received using the interface 818 maybe transmitted to a system server and/or a third-party system toinitiate a shipment. In some cases, in response to the shippingparameters being provided to the system server and/or the third-partysystem, the host device receives a shipping label image for display byan electronic shipping label device. The electronic shipping labeldevice may be operably coupled to the host device 808, and the hostdevice 808 may transmit the shipping label image to the electronicshipping label device so that the electronic shipping label device maydisplay the shipping label image. In some cases, shipment information,including the shipping label image, may be displayed in the interface818. In some cases, the user may instruct the host device to transmitthe shipping label image to the electronic shipping label device. Insome cases, the host device may automatically transmit the shippinglabel image to the electronic shipping device.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative block diagram of an electronic shipping labeldevice 906 as described herein (e.g., electronic shipping label devices106, 706). The electronic shipping label device 906 can include aprocessing unit 900, memory 902 a, memory 902 b, one or moreinput/output (I/O) devices 904, a power source 918, a networkcommunications interface 910, and an antenna 920.

In some cases, one or more components of the electronic shipping labeldevice 906 may be modules or components of an integrated circuit 950(e.g., a chip). For example, the integrated circuit 950 may include theprocessing unit 900, the network communications interface 910, and thememory 902 b on a single substrate.

In some cases, the I/O devices 904 include one or more status indicatorlights (e.g., LED lights) for providing status information regarding theelectronic shipping label device 906. For example, the I/O devices 904may include a blue LED and a red LED for providing status updates tousers. In some cases, the I/O devices 904 include one or more controlbuttons for providing input(s) to the electronic shipping label device906. The control buttons may be used to power the device on and off, topower the display of the device on and off, to perform a wirelesspairing process with another device (e.g., a host device), to check astatus of the device, or the like. Status indicator lights and buttonsare discussed in more detail above with respect to FIG. 5.

In some cases, the I/O devices 904 may include one or more ports orconnectors configured to interface with another device (e.g., via acable). In some cases, the I/O devices 904 include a debug/testconnector for performing testing, initial configuration, provisioning,and other functions at the electronic shipping label device 906.

In some cases, the I/O devices 904 may be operably coupled to theprocessing unit 900 via one or more connectors. In some cases, theconnectors include one or more general purpose input output (GPIO)digital signal pins of the integrated circuit 950. I/O devices arediscussed in more detail below with respect to FIG. 10.

As shown in FIG. 9, the electronic shipping label device 906 may includea memory 902 a that is not part of the integrated circuit 950 and amemory 902 b that is part of the integrated circuit 950. In some cases,the memory 902 a is configured to store shipping label images. In somecases, the memory 902 a includes persistent memory only, such as Flashmemory. In other cases, the memory 902 a includes persistent and/ornon-persistent memory. In some cases, the memory 902 b is used to storeother data involved in operating the electronic shipping label device902. In some cases, the memory 902 b includes persistent andnon-persistent memory. The memory 902 a and the memory 902 b can beconfigured as any type of memory. In various cases, the memory 902 a andthe memory 902 b can be implemented as random access memory, read-onlymemory, Flash memory, removable memory, or other types of storageelements, or combinations of such devices.

As noted above, the display 916 may be implemented as an electronicpaper display configured to provide a graphical output (e.g., a shippinglabel image). In some cases, as noted above, the graphical output of thedisplay is persistent in that once it is provided (e.g., once a shippinglabel image is displayed on the display), the graphical output may bemaintained on the display indefinitely and/or without consuming powerfrom and internal power source (e.g., a battery) or an external powersource. In some cases, the memory 902 a, the processing unit 900, and/orthe display 916 may be operably coupled to one another via a serialcommunication interface (e.g., a serial peripheral interface (SPI)) ofthe integrated circuit 950 or another suitable connection mechanism.

The power source 918 can be implemented with any device capable ofproviding energy to the electronic device. For example, the power source918 can be one or more batteries (including rechargeable batteries, suchas lithium-ion polymer batteries), or a connector (e.g., a USB microconnector) and/or cable that connects the electronic device to anotherpower source such as a wall outlet for powering the device and/orcharging the batteries. In some cases, the power source 918 may includean integrated circuit configured to manage battery charging operations.In some cases, the power source 918 may include a voltage regulator(e.g., a 3.3V regulator) for maintaining a constant voltage level. Insome cases, the power source 918 is operably coupled to the processingunit 900 for monitoring battery status, charging status, and the like.In some cases, the integrated circuit 950 includes an analog-to-digitalconverter (ADC) that operably couples the power source 918 to theprocessing unit 900.

In some cases, the network communications interface 910 is a wirelessnetwork communication interface operably coupled to the processing unit900 and configured to wirelessly communicate with other devices (e.g., ahost device). In some case, the electronic shipping label device 906 isconnected to a host device via a network, such as WI-FI, BLUETOOTH LE, acellular network (e.g., GSM, LTE, or other cellular network), or thelike. In some cases, the network communications interface 910 isoperably coupled to an antenna 920 for facilitating wireless signaltransmission and receipt. In some cases, the antenna is implemented as asurface-mount device (SMD) antenna. The antenna 920 may facilitatecommunication across one or more frequencies. In some cases, the antenna920 operates at 2.4 GHz.

The processing unit 900, the memory 902 a and 902 b, the I/O devices904, the power source 918, and the network communications interface 910may be implemented as described below with respect to the like-namedcomponents described below with respect to FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is an illustrative block diagram of an electronic device 1008 asdescribed herein (e.g., host devices 108, 1008, system server 110,electronic shipping label devices 106, 706, 906 etc.) The electronicdevice can include a display 1016, one or more processing units 1000,memory 1002, one or more I/O devices 1004, a power source 1018, and anetwork communications interface 1010.

The display 1016 may provide an image or graphical output (e.g.,computer-generated image data) for the electronic device. The displaymay also provide an input surface for one or more input devices, suchas, for example, a touch sensing device and/or a fingerprint sensor. Thedisplay 1016 may be substantially any size and may be positionedsubstantially anywhere on the electronic device. The display 1016 can beimplemented with any suitable technology, including, but not limited toliquid crystal display (LCD) technology, light emitting diode (LED)technology, organic light-emitting display (OLED) technology, organicelectroluminescence (OEL) technology, electronic paper (e.g., electronicink) display technology, or another type of display technology. Thedisplay 1016 provides a graphical output, for example associated with anoperating system, user interface, and/or applications of the electronicdevice 1008. In some embodiments, the display 1016 is configured as atouch-sensitive (e.g., single-touch, multi-touch) and/or force-sensitivedisplay to receive inputs from a user. In some embodiments, thetouch-sensitive display includes one or more sensors (e.g., capacitivetouch sensors, ultrasonic sensors, or other touch sensors) positionedabove, below, or integrated with the display. In various embodiments, agraphical output of the display 1016 is responsive to inputs provided tothe electronic device 1008.

The processing unit 1000 can control some or all of the operations ofthe electronic device. The processing unit 1000 can communicate, eitherdirectly or indirectly, with substantially all of the components of theelectronic device. For example, a system bus or signal line 1012 orother communication mechanisms (e.g., electronic connectors) can providecommunication between the processing unit(s) 1000, the memory 1002, theI/O device(s) 1004, the power source 1018, and/or the networkcommunications interface 1010. The one or more processing units 1000 canbe implemented as any electronic device capable of processing,receiving, or transmitting data or instructions. For example, theprocessing unit(s) 1000 can each be a microprocessor, a centralprocessing unit, an application-specific integrated circuit, afield-programmable gate array, a digital signal processor, an analogcircuit, a digital circuit, or combination of such devices. Theprocessor may be a single-thread or multi-thread processor. Theprocessor may be a single-core or multi-core processor.

Accordingly, as described herein, the phrase “processing unit” or, moregenerally, “processor” refers to a hardware-implemented data processingunit or circuit physically structured to execute specifictransformations of data including data operations represented as codeand/or instructions included in a program that can be stored within andaccessed from a memory. The term is meant to encompass a singleprocessor or processing unit, multiple processors, multiple processingunits, analog or digital circuits, or other suitably configuredcomputing element or combination of elements.

The memory 1002 can store electronic data that can be used by theelectronic device. For example, a memory can store electrical data orcontent such as, for example, audio and video files, documents andapplications, device settings and user preferences, timing signals,signals received from the one or more sensors, one or more patternrecognition algorithms, data structures or databases, and so on. Thememory 1002 can be configured as any type of memory. By way of exampleonly, the memory can be implemented as random access memory, read-onlymemory, Flash memory, removable memory, or other types of storageelements, or combinations of such devices.

The one or more I/O devices 1004 can transmit and/or receive data to andfrom a user or another electronic device. The I/O device(s) 1004 caninclude a display, a touch or force sensing input surface such as atrackpad, one or more buttons, one or more microphones or speakers, oneor more ports such as a microphone port, one or more accelerometers fortap sensing, one or more optical sensors for proximity sensing, and/or akeyboard. In some cases, the I/O devices 1004 include a haptic vibratorfor providing haptic outputs relating a status or other informationrelated to the electronic device.

In some cases, the I/O devices 1004 include one or more status indicatorlights (e.g., LED lights) and/or speakers for providing statusinformation regarding the electronic device. In some cases, the I/Odevices 1004 include one or more control buttons for providing input(s)to the electronic device. The control buttons may be used to power thedevice on and off, to power the display of the device on and off, toperform a wireless pairing process with another device (e.g., a hostdevice), to check a status of the device, or the like. Status indicatorlights and buttons are discussed in more detail above with respect toFIG. 7.

The power source 1018 can be implemented with any device capable ofproviding energy to the electronic device. For example, the power source1018 can be one or more batteries or rechargeable batteries, or aconnection cable that connects the electronic device to another powersource such as a wall outlet.

The network communication interface 1010 can facilitate transmission ofdata to or from other electronic devices. For example, a networkcommunication interface can transmit electronic signals via a wirelessand/or wired network connection. Examples of wireless and wired networkconnections include, but are not limited to, cellular, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth,IR, and Ethernet.

It should be noted that FIG. 10 is for illustrative purposes only. Inother examples, an electronic device may include fewer or morecomponents than those shown in FIG. 10. Additionally or alternatively,the electronic device can be included in a system and one or morecomponents shown in FIG. 10 are separate from the electronic device butincluded in the system. For example, an electronic device may beoperatively connected to, or in communication with a separate display.As another example, one or more applications can be stored in a memoryseparate from the wearable electronic device. The processing unit in theelectronic device can be operatively connected to and in communicationwith the separate display and/or memory.

As noted above, many embodiments described herein reference systems,methods, and devices for electronic shipping labels. It may beappreciated, however, that this is merely one example; otherconfigurations, implementations, and constructions are contemplated inview of the various principles and methods of operations—and reasonablealternatives thereto—described in reference to the embodiments describedabove.

One may appreciate that although many embodiments are disclosed above,that the operations and steps presented with respect to methods andtechniques described herein are meant as exemplary and accordingly arenot exhaustive. One may further appreciate that alternate step order orfewer or additional operations may be required or desired for particularembodiments. Other examples and implementations are within the scope andspirit of the disclosure and appended claims. For example, featuresimplementing functions may also be physically located at variouspositions, including being distributed such that portions of functionsare implemented at different physical locations. Also, as used herein,including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “atleast one of” indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, alist of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BCor ABC (i.e., A and B and C). Further, the term “exemplary” does notmean that the described example is preferred or better than otherexamples.

Although the disclosure above is described in terms of various exemplaryembodiments and implementations, it should be understood that thevarious features, aspects, and functionality described in one or more ofthe individual embodiments are not limited in their applicability to theparticular embodiment with which they are described, but instead can beapplied, alone or in various combinations, to one or more of theembodiments of the invention, whether or not such embodiments aredescribed and whether or not such features are presented as being a partof a described embodiment. Thus, the breadth and scope of the presentinvention should not be limited by any of the above-described exemplaryembodiments but is instead defined by the claims herein presented.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for configuring an electronic shippinglabel device to be attached to an item to be shipped, the methodcomprising: receiving, at a system server, from a portable electronicdevice, an initiation request corresponding to a shipment of an itemusing the electronic shipping label device, the initiation requesttransmitted in response to the portable electronic device receiving arequest to initiate the shipment at a graphical user interface operatedon the portable electronic device; transmitting a shipping request to athird-party system, the shipping request including shipping parameterscorresponding to the shipment; receiving shipment information from thethird-party system in response to the shipping request, the shipmentinformation comprising a third-party shipping label image; determining alayout for a custom shipping label image for display on the electronicshipping label device, the custom shipping label image comprising a setof custom label elements and the layout specifying target dimensions anda position on the custom shipping label image for each of the set ofcustom label elements; analyzing the third-party shipping label image toidentify a set of third-party label elements; identifying atransformation for each of the set of third-party label elements;generating each of the set of custom label elements by performing arespective transformation on a corresponding third-party label elementin accordance with a respective set of target dimensions of the layout;generating the custom shipping label image using the set of custom labelelements and the layout; and transmitting the custom shipping labelimage to the portable electronic device, the portable electronic deviceconfigured to transmit the custom shipping label image to the electronicshipping label device for display at an electronic paper display of theelectronic shipping label device.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein:analyzing the third-party shipping label image comprises determining anelement type for each of the set of third-party label elements; and themethod further comprises: determining a first transformation to performon a first third-party label element to generate a first custom labelelement, the first transformation determined based on a first elementtype determined for the first third-party label element and first targetdimensions for the first custom label element specified by the layout;determining a second transformation, different from the firsttransformation, to perform on a second third-party label element togenerate a second custom label element, the second transformationdetermined based on a second element type determined for the secondthird-party label element and second target dimensions for the secondcustom label element specified by the layout; generating the firstcustom label element by performing the first transformation on the firstthird-party label element; and generating the second custom labelelement by performing the second transformation on the secondthird-party label element.
 3. The method of claim 2, wherein: the firsttransformation comprises scaling the first third-party label element toconform to the first target dimensions; and the second transformationcomprises: extracting text from the second third-party label element;and generating the second custom label element using the extracted text.4. The method of claim 2, wherein: the first third-party label elementcomprises a first barcode; the first transformation comprises:determining a code represented by the first barcode; and generating asecond barcode having the first target dimensions using the code.
 5. Themethod of claim 2, wherein determining the first transformationcomprises determining whether the first third-party label element can bescaled to the first target dimensions without data loss.
 6. The methodof claim 5, wherein: in accordance with determining that the firstthird-party label element can be scaled to the first target dimensionswithout data loss, the first transformation comprises scaling the firstthird-party label element to the first target dimensions; and inaccordance with determining that the first third-party label elementcannot be scaled to the first target dimensions without data loss, thefirst transformation comprises: extracting data from the firstthird-party label element; and generating the first custom label elementusing the extracted data.
 7. The method of claim 2, wherein determiningthe first transformation comprises determining whether the first customlabel element can be generated using data extracted from the firstthird-party label element.
 8. The method of claim 7, wherein: inaccordance with determining that the first third-party label element canbe generated using data extracted from the first third-party labelelement, the first transformation comprises: extracting data from thefirst third-party label element; and generating the first custom labelelement using the extracted data; and in accordance with determiningthat the first third-party label element cannot be generated using dataextracted from the first third-party label element, the firsttransformation comprises scaling the first third-party label element tothe first target dimensions.
 9. A method for configuring an electronicshipping label device, the method comprising: receiving, at a graphicaluser interface operated on a host device, a request to initiate ashipment of an item using the electronic shipping label device anddestination information corresponding to the shipment; transmitting thedestination information and an initiation request to a system server;receiving a third-party shipping label image corresponding to theshipment; analyzing the third-party shipping label image to identify aset of third-party label elements; determining a first transformation toperform on a first third-party label element of the set of third-partylabel elements to generate a first custom label element for a customshipping label image, the first transformation determined based on afirst element type determined for the first third-party label elementand first target dimensions for the first custom label element;determining a second transformation, different from the firsttransformation, to perform on a second third-party label element of theset of third-party label elements to generate a second custom labelelement for the custom shipping label image, the second transformationdetermined based on a second element type determined for the secondthird-party label element and second target dimensions for the secondcustom label element; generating the first custom label element byperforming the first transformation on the first third-party labelelement; generating the second custom label element by performing thesecond transformation on the second third-party label element;generating the custom shipping label image using the first custom labelelement and the second custom label element; and transmitting the customshipping label image to the electronic shipping label device for displayon a display of the electronic shipping label device.
 10. The method ofclaim 9, further comprising determining a layout for the custom shippinglabel image, the layout specifying target dimensions and a position onthe custom shipping label image for each of a set of custom labelelements of the custom shipping label image.
 11. The method of claim 9,wherein analyzing the third-party shipping label image further comprisesdetermining the first element type and the second element type.
 12. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the first transformation comprises at leastone of: scaling the first third-party label element to conform to thefirst target dimensions; or extracting text from the second third-partylabel element and generating the second custom label element using theextracted text.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein the firsttransformation comprises: determining a code represented by the firstthird-party label element; and generating the second custom labelelement using the code.
 14. The method of claim 9, wherein: thethird-party shipping label image is a first third-party shipping labelimage; the custom shipping label image is a first custom shipping labelimage; the method further comprises: receiving, at the host device,updated destination information corresponding to the shipment;transmitting the updated destination information to the system server;receiving, from the system server, a second third-party shipping labelimage corresponding to the updated destination information; generating asecond custom shipping label image; and transmitting the second customshipping label image to the electronic shipping label device; andtransmission of the second custom shipping label image causes theelectronic shipping label device to replace the first custom shippinglabel image with the second custom shipping label image.
 15. The methodof claim 9, wherein: the method further comprises: receiving, from thesystem server, one or more price quotes for the shipment; receiving, atthe graphical user interface of the host device, a selection of a pricequote of the one or more price quotes for the shipment; and transmittingthe selection to the system server, wherein: the system server transmitsthe initiation request to a third-party system in response to receivingthe selection.
 16. A system comprising: an electronic shipping labeldevice comprising: an enclosure defining an opening; an attachmentmechanism configured to attach the enclosure to an item to be shipped; abattery positioned within the enclosure; an electronic paper displaypositioned at least partially within the opening and configured todisplay a custom shipping label image corresponding to a shipment; aprocessing unit positioned within the enclosure and configured tocontrol a graphical output of the electronic paper display; and awireless network communication interface operably coupled to theprocessing unit; and a host device operably coupled to the electronicshipping label device and comprising a graphical user interfaceconfigured to receive shipping parameters corresponding to the shipment;a system server operably coupled to the host device and configured to:receive, from the host device, the shipping parameters and an initiationrequest regarding the shipment; transmit a shipping request and theshipping parameters to a third-party system; receive a third-partyshipping label image for the shipment from the third-party system;analyze the third-party shipping label image to identify a set ofthird-party label elements; perform a first transformation on a firstthird-party label element of the set of third-party label elements togenerate a first custom label element of the custom shipping labelimage; perform a second transformation on a second third-party labelelement of the set of third-party label elements to generate a secondcustom label element of the custom shipping label image; generate thecustom shipping label image using the first custom label element and thesecond custom label element; and transmit the custom shipping labelimage to the host device; wherein: the host device is configured totransmit the custom shipping label image to the electronic shippinglabel device; the electronic shipping label device is configured to:receive the custom shipping label image; and display the custom shippinglabel image using the electronic paper display.
 17. The system of claim16, wherein the system server is further configured to: determine alayout for the custom shipping label image, the custom shipping labelimage comprising a set of custom label elements and the layoutspecifying target dimensions and a position on the custom shipping labelimage for each of the set of custom label elements; and generate thecustom shipping label image using the layout.
 18. The system of claim17, wherein the system server is further configured to: determine thefirst transformation based on a first element type determined for thefirst third-party label element and first target dimensions for thefirst custom label element specified by the layout; and determine thesecond transformation based on a second element type determined for thesecond third-party label element and second target dimensions for thesecond custom label element specified by the layout.
 19. The system ofclaim 18, wherein the system server is further configured to determinethe first element type and the second element type.
 20. The system ofclaim 16, wherein the first transformation comprises at least one of:scaling the first third-party label element; or extracting text from thesecond third-party label element and generating the second custom labelelement using the extracted text.